New report paints picture of current, future research and graduate education

The final report of Northern Arizona University's Research and Graduate Education Task Force is now available and includes an executive summary of the group's key findings and recommendations.

President John Haeger and Provost Liz Grobsmith created the task force in 2004 and charged the group with studying the university's research and graduate education enterprises and making recommendations about these aspects of NAU's mission.

"This self study was intended as a strategic plan to see where we are and to chart directions for the future," said Kathy Cruz-Uribe, chair of the Research and Graduate Education Task Force and dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

In an analysis of data from NAU and comparative data from peer institutions in 2004-05, the task force prepared a digest of NAU's research and graduate education, including such findings as:

• Compared to its peers, NAU ranks No. 4 in graduate enrollment (5,814 in 2004-05) but much lower in the number of graduate programs.
• Eighty percent of graduate students are master's degree students; 63 percent of graduate students are in the College of Education; 71 percent of graduate students are in Distance Learning.
• NAU's externally sponsored projects are relatively balanced between research, instruction and public service.
• Sponsored program support at NAU has increased by more than 400 percent in the last decade, from $12.6 million in awards in fiscal year 1994 to nearly $54 million in fiscal year 2004.

Cruz-Uribe said the report also cites the large number of programs at NAU that provide research experiences for undergraduates.

As the final phase of its work, the task force developed several recommendations in 2005-06 for research and graduate education.

The task force proposed the university adopt the concept of "integrated, focused scholarship and graduate education." The group identified four interdisciplinary areas of strength that the university should concentrate on and support:

• biotechnology and health
• environment and sustainable systems
• learning and teaching
• human connections and diversity of the human experience, particularly focused on Native American issues

The task force also recommended the university assess its current graduate programs for academic rigor, quality and relevance to NAU's priorities and the outlined strengths. The group suggested expanding master's degree programming, which has both a professional and applied focus at NAU.

"That's where our strength is and where our need is greatest," said Cruz-Uribe, noting predicted continued growth nationally in master's degrees through at least 2013.

The task force further recommended adding either a full-time graduate dean or an associate vice president for research. Those functions are currently combined in one position.

The report also proposes increasing the competitiveness of graduate programs, including a three-year plan to provide tuition waivers for graduate assistants.

Cruz-Uribe said the Research and Graduate Education Task Force report has been shared with many of the academic and senior leadership groups on campus, and various elements have been incorporated in the president's discussions with campus about NAU's distinctive graduate education and research missions. Cruz-Uribe said the report will help guide discussions about the future of research and graduate education at NAU.

Task force members included the academic deans, the vice provost for Research and Graduate Studies and representatives from the University Graduate Committee, the Faculty Senate, the Academic Chairs Council and the Regents' professors.

The full report and executive summary are on the Graduate College web site at http://home.nau.edu/gradcol/.

E-mail this page